GIRLS WINNER: Teahna Daniels - Junior @ The First Academy
A new an improved Teahna Daniels. That was the goal for Coach Ricky Argro and the standout sprinter coming into the 2014 season. Daniels had a successful junior season at Dr. Phillips, placing third at the 4A state meet in the 100 meter dash. In the postseason Daniels, had the lead at the Golden South Classic when a hamstring injury caused her to fall to the track. The blood curdling scream could be heard around around the stadium. Argro says the number one priority when she transferred to The First Academy last summer was to establish the problem with her hamstrings and fix it.
"We figured out 90% of the issues with her hamstring had nothing to do with the actual hamstring. So I set out to get her weight down, eating habits in order, hydration, flexibility, greatly increased her strength levels, explosive power, and greatly improved her running technique and core strength. These things to this day we still work on."
The junior hit the indoor track circuit running in the Indoor Alumni Age Group Invitational in Alabama and the Jimmy Carnes Indoor Meet in Gainesville. The back to back meets resulted in US#1 times in the 55 and 60 meter dashes; a sign that Daniels was back to business. Argro says the two never trained for indoor and it was more of a reward for hard work over the past six months.
"She really wanted to compete. I had no expectation other then seeing her run a race healthy, and also see if what we had been working on in terms of running technique she could apply in a race setting. Honestly, she could've went out and lost every race but if it has been technically sound I would've been totally satisfied. So I never wanted the old Teahna "back" I was working to totally reprogram her and I could see it was starting to come around.
The workouts go through phases. From running miles to 100m technique runs 15 times a day, to the current focus of speed workoouts. The speed workouts consist of flying 30's, 80m sprints, 220m sprints, 150m sprints, and balancing those with longer runs to decresase her weight and increase her core strength. It's not a regimen for anyone, but Argro says she has really bought into the program.
"The biggest thing I contribute to Teahna's growth this year is her mentality. I'm very hard as a coach, sometimes too hard. I have to realize at times these are kids and I have to give a little because they will make mistakes. Teahna has stepped up her game and mentally she's in a different place which I'm proud of."
A different place, different competition, and a different mentality is exactly what Argro was looking for when he and Daniels made the trek out west to Austin, Texas to compete in the Texas Relays. Daniels had been running great in terms of times in the area, but they realized their is a bigger world out there. Argro says he wanted her to see what others are doing and experience that sort of atmosphere.
"She ran AAU nationals and things of that sort but when you step out on the track in Texas track and football are religion. There's people on the track such as Sanya Richards and Bianca Knight watching, many Olympic and world champions competing, collegiate coaching greats and collegiate All-Americans standing behind you preparing to race, over 35,000 people in the stands, and they are all there watching you. Either your ready for it or your not. Stages like that make you elite or you just become average."
After setting a new meet record with an all-conditions US#2 time of 11.37, Daniels arrived. Argro always preaches to run the perfect races and the times will come. He says that was the game plan; just do what she has been doing day in and day out.
All you can control is what's in your line and no matter how big the stage it's still the same 100 meters on every track. Her performance was great obviously, but we took away a lot of things she could do better and came away very happy. To run on that stage, win the race, set a new Texas relays record, and most importantly make it through healthy, it's a blessing we all thanked God for. I then saw the change I needed to see. She was now mentally ready for the big stage and confident."
During the week, the two watch races two to three times a week. Argro watches everyday. He wants his runners to remember how that perfect race felt, repeat it every time, and the times will come. That is exactly what Daniels did at the Florida Relays in Gainesville. Getting out to a great start, she held off a late charge by Kaylin Whitney, who owns a season best of 11.36 wind-aided. Afterwards, neither runner knew who had won and shared an embrace as they looked at the clock. When Daniels name lit up on the board with a time of 11.44 the smile on her face said it all. Argro calls it her best race of the season. The two will go back to the drawing board this week as she prepares for the state meet. Her coach, who has mentored the likes of Marvin Bracy, and Levonte Whitfield, says Daniels can be in that same elite category before all is said and done.
"During these upcoming weeks we work a lot on the small things were still lacking in her races and also work a lot on her mental preparation.Tee has all the talent in the world to be just as good as Marvin and Kermit. As long as she can put together her race properly and work hard, her potential is endless."
Teahna's Athlete Profile
BOYS WINNER: Javon Patterson - Junior @ Boyd Anderson
New Boyd Anderson Coach Dawn Spann has known Javon Patterson since he was ten years old and has watched him run since them. Being her first opportunity to coach him, she looked at areas in his race that they could work onto make him better. She says he is such a smooth runner, who is very natural and talented, and that the key to his success this year has been his ability to run year round.
"Honestly, many shoot down summer track as they believe it is too much running and that is a time for rest, but I attribute Javon's maturity on the track to the experience of summer track. It allowed him to be able to hone in this event and put him ahead of many others. It also helps that he has a good mental on the sport and where he would like to go within it."
Patterson participated in cross country int he fall before transitioning to track. Although, strictly an 800 meter runner, Spann has tried to broaden his horizons. The junior has run more 1600's as their intial focus was to get strongeer and correct the finish of his 800 meters. A 400 would be more in his wheel house, but with the short distance between events that makes it very hard to do. Spann says this season they changed his training from being more speed based to more strength based.
"A typical workout for him would depend on the time of season we are in. Beginning of the season we were on 1600 and 1200 repeats and we transitioned middle season down to 1000 and 600s, now being that competition time we are starting to turn our legs over and we are down to more 400s and shorter sprints. One key thing for him as well is having a good training group to work out with, it makes the hard days easier and having that competition in practice makes race-days even easier."
So far this season, the youngster is six for six in the half-mile including an impressive win this past weekend at the Florida Relays that earned him the honor of Athlete of the Week. Patterson lead the field through 200 meters in roughly 26 seconds and was right at the front when they crossed through 400 meters in 54 seconds. A very fast start, but the Boyd Anderson star stayed back in third and fourth before moving up to the front of the pack with 200 meters to go. He swung wide and passed the rest of the pack to cross the line in 1:52.04, the second fastest time in the country at that point and currently the fifth fastest for 2014. Spann says she was very impressed with the performance.
"After the race I was excited to know that less than a week after his first 1:52 of the season he could come back and do it again and in this race it was so different from the week before. It has become a great training tool for the remainder of the season as we see areas from this race that we can still work on and know we are on the right path. It brings me great joy to see what we have to look forward to for the remainder of the season."
Patterson bleeds black and orange. While many of his former teammates transferred at the end of the year, he decided to stay. Spann says this speaks volume about the type of person he is both on and off the track.
"Yes, that was a big plus for us as I know that was a tough decision for him as many of those athletes are his close friends, but it spoke volumes and for the fellas that remained it showed he was not going to just leave them hanging. He loves his entire team and I know that was a big part of him staying along with his respect for Coach Schubert, it shows that he has that Cobra Pride."
Spann is hoping that Cobra Pride will bring another state championship back to Boyd Anderson. Patterson is currently the leader in the state at 800 meters, but will face stiff competition in May from the lines of Nick Morken of Niceville, Kolin Ashbacher of Palmetto Ridge, and Zackery Summerall of Sarasota. Last year, he finished second behind current University of Florida freshman Andres Arroyo. His coach says this year is an important one for Patterson and the bright future that lies ahead.
"I think this year it is important as last year I think he felt he could have won that State race, he just ran a miscalculated race and I know this year he is on a mission, not only to win state but to challenge that state record (1:49.72) as well. He wants to make the World Junior Team and compete at the World Juniors in July. For next year we will be looking to continue to drop the time and focus on the right fit for college and finishing high school academically as well as he runs the track.
Javon's Athlete Profile